NBS report

EKLIPSE has published the report from its first request from policy makers for synthesizing available knowledge. The resulting report Nature-based solutions to promote climate resilience in urban areas – developing an impact evaluation framework is now available online.

This report is the outcome of a request from the European Commission DG Research and Innovation to develop an assessment framework to evaluate the multiple benefits, disservices, trade-offs and synergies of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS). The main purpose of the request is to apply this framework to H2020-funded NBS demonstration projects for increasing urban resilience to climate change.

To answer this request, EKLIPSE sent out a Call for Expertise and selected 15 experts from 117 applications in July 2016.These experts covered a broad range of expertise (natural and social sciences, practitioners, planners and architects) and geographical representation to form the EKLIPSE Expert Working Group on Nature‐based Solutions to Promote Climate Resilience in Urban Areas. The co-chairs of this group were Christopher Raymond (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), Carlo Calfapietra (National Research Council, Rome) and Niki Frantzeskaki (Erasmus University Rotterdam). The other members of the expert working group were:

The expert group, facilitated by the EKLIPSE Secretariat, worked closely with the other experts who applied for the call. This larger group supported the expert working group by suggesting sources of information, highlighting gaps in our current knowledge and reviewed the outputs of the expert group. In August, the expert group produced a draft protocol, which was made open for comment until early September. The review process resulted in feedback from 22 individuals and organisations. The expert group completed their draft report in November and it was then opened for consultation though a virtual focus group, an external expert review and public consultation. The last two steps resulted in 10 reviews.

Erratum: The acronym PET in Table 5 of the NBS report (page 11) should read as Physiological Equivalent Temperature.